The Prince
by kokkilamb01
Summary: AU. Konoha's last surviving prince needs a queen. Hundreds come to try and win the prince's heart but only a certain pink-haired girl catches his attention.
1. Chapter 1

Yes. I know. I have not updated Star Crossed. I'm sorry! But my O levels a happening soon. In about a month. Or maybe less. Need to do wellll~~ But for now, I come with a new fic. *Wriggles eyebrows* I have thought about a lot of cheesy moments in this fic. MUAHAHAHAHA! Look forward to it! 8D

NOTE: Naruto does not belong to me~

Summary: AU. Konoha's last surviving prince needs a queen. Hundreds come to try and win the prince's heart but only a certain pink-haired girl catches his attention.

Chapter 1: The Uchiha

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"Your Highness, you have to choose a Queen soon. You will turn twenty in one week! If you do not choose one by the end of today, the Council will choose _for_ you," Kakashi said. Sasuke looked at his Royal Advisor; his unruly silver hair betrayed his royal position and the public always mistook him for someone else. He never did attend any gatherings, important or not. He preferred to work behind the scene.

Sasuke groaned inwardly. He had been trying to avoid having to pick a Queen. Like his father, he would rather rule his country single-handedly. Who needs a weak woman that would stand on his way? But he knew better.

His father had been a kind ruler during the time his mother was alive. She died when she was giving birth to him due to some complications that were unknown to the Healers. Despite the Councils urgings to find a new Queen, he had adamantly refused. Due to that, his Sharingan had taken control of him and he had gone berserk. That was the role of the Queen, to help her husband control his Sharingan.

Sasuke did not like the fact that his life depended on one woman. He never was interested in the women that came into his palace, literally throwing themselves at him. All they ever wanted was to increase their social status.

But he knew he needed to choose soon.

The guards at the door bowed at him before opening the doors. He entered the room, his head held high. The whole room was filled with women of different ages! He was surprised that the room could even fit them all. He calmly walked to his throne and sat down. All the women in the room bowed in unison, greeting him.

"There's more outside," Kakashi whispered as he took his usual position, standing on his right side. Sasuke tried his best not to groan out loud. It seems like it was going to be a very long day.

One by one, candidates came up stating the reasons why they should be chosen. They spoke of their fortune, their social status and their abilities.

One woman who was reaching her twenties came up. She had red hair that reached her shoulders and beautiful features that would make the women in the whole room jealous. She bowed elegantly before she spoke, "I am Ooriko Ayaka from the Ooriko clan in the far east. I have travelled all the way to Konoha in hopes that I would be able to win the prince's heart and receive the title as Queen of Konoha. Given the opportunity, I would be able to help the poor in Konoha and help the country develop. I would be able to-"

Sasuke could not take it anymore and spoke, "You have come for the title like many others. What makes you think I am interested in what you can do? What makes you think you could change my country? What can a weak woman like you do for my country?"

The red-haired woman was speechless. She looked as if she was about to cry. Before Sasuke could speak again, he was interrupted.

"Hey! What is wrong with you?"

Sasuke tore his gaze from the redhead and searched for the origin of the voice. A petite woman with a brown cloak appeared from the suddenly quiet crowd. Her cloak covered her whole form and half her face. He narrowed his eyes. The woman climbed up the steps and stood right in front of him. She took off the hood that covered her face revealing bright pink locks that reached her waist. Her emerald green eyes were staring into his.

"What kind of a prince are you? Sitting on the throne swimming in women while the poor starve! You say a woman would never be able to change the country. Yet a man like you _still_ let people die! A weak woman like myself would be able to make more changes in one day than _you_ could ever hope to achieve in your life, you soulless bastard!" She screamed. Her hands were clenched and trembling in fury. Faster than the speed of light, two bodyguards appeared and forced her to her knees. She tried to break free but to no avail. Before they could bring her to the dungeons, he ordered his guards to let her go. She stood up and glared at him before turning around to get to the doorway.

He quickly stood up from his throne and grabbed her arm. He slid his other arm around her waist forcing her back to come in contact with his chest. He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist bringing her closer to him. He placed his chin on her shoulder and smiled a sly smile.

"I have found my Queen."


	2. Chapter 2

-Naruto still doesn't belong to me-

**The Prince.**

**Chapter 2: The Council**

WOAH! There's a lot of response for this story! And I thank you guys for reading! I'm open to any suggestions if you have any specific scenes you want to happen! :D Thank you again for reading and reviewing~! I present to you Chapter 2~~

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"Her? Out of all people you could have picked, why did you pick her?" One of the Council members said. He covered his face with his hands as if displaying his dissatisfaction with the Prince's choice. He wore the customary robe every Council member had to wear, but each Council member had a different coloured sash tied to their waist. Each colour represented the different things the Council members were in charge of. For example, Kurenai wore the red sash representing her involvement in Konoha's financial issues. In total, there were ten members. Of course, the almighty Council needs to have a leader. That was where Kakashi came in. Being the Royal Advisor, he had the highest amount of influence in the Council. He served in the Royal Army for many years and was promoted to a higher status after years of loyal service. Kakashi had the ability to persuade the members of the Council to agree with him. He was certainly a very useful comrade to have along.

Now, where was he when he needed him most?

Sasuke continued to listen as half the Council members were voicing their dissatisfaction but he could not help but glance at the doors of the giant room, hoping that Kakashi would burst in with his goofy smile while saying, "Sorry I'm late. I had to save this cat from a tree and help a lady cross the road." Why was he _always_ late?

"Sasuke-sama, why couldn't you have just chosen one of our candidates as your Queen? The Yamanaka girl had both influence _and_ wealth!" The same Council member said. He had dark hair that fell to his shoulders. His eyes were a bright blue. Out of all the Council members, Asabi was the only one that would get in Sasuke's way. He was also one of the Council members in charge of finance.

"Hn," was his response.

Suddenly, the large doors of the room opened. Sasuke hoped it would be Kakashi, but unfortunately, no.

"Sasuke. I found Shikamaru, so I dragged him here," Naruto happily said as he dragged the brunette from behind him. It was no surprise that Shikamaru was found lazing around instead of attending the Council meeting. He never seemed to be interested, but whenever the country needed a strategist, he would be there. He was definitely a genius, he just never bothered to use that gigantic brain of his unless absolutely necessary. He was also one of the Council members in charge of defence in Konoha.

The brunette scratched his head as he casually walked over to his seat next to Asuma, who was also in charge of defence. Naruto walked over to the seat next to Sasuke. He was not a part of the Council but still played an important role. Shikamaru, Naruto and him were all of the same age and one of the few youngest people with the most influential positions. Shikamaru was one of the members in the Council, Naruto was the Army General and Sasuke was the Prince.

Sasuke could remember the first time he had met Naruto. The blonde was left out almost all the time. He was an orphan. Sasuke only noticed how pathetic he was as he grew older. Naruto was a complete troublemaker. He would boast of one day being able to help rule the country. Sasuke would smirk and criticize him, but here he stood next to him as the Army General. He had watched in awe as the blonde stopped his troublemaking antics and had started to rise in the ranks. He joined the Royal Army as soon as he was old enough to do so. He had worked his way up after that. Naruto was one of the few people Sasuke fully trusted. The blonde had a rough past, being sealed with one of the most powerful tailed beast, not a lot of people trusted him. People were scared of him and would try to avoid him at all costs. Years had passed and Naruto had become a new, better person. He would willingly risk his life to protect Konoha.

"So, where's the new pretty wife of yours?" He asked as he sat down on in the chair next to him, his armour clinking loudly. As the Army General, he wore a shiny, metal armour with the Sharingan fan carved onto it.

Of course, despite him being a better person, he was still Naruto.

"I heard she called you a soulless bastard. I always knew you liked aggressive women. I prefer them more myself, they're feisty in bed!" he said as he punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"I doubt he chose her because of that, Naruto. But, if that is the case, I could lend you my Icha Icha Paradise if you're interested."

Sasuke turned his head and saw Kakashi come in with one of his orange companions in hand. "Sorry I'm late. I had to help this poor looking child find her mother," the silver-haired man added. His mask covered his expression and bandages covered one of his eyes.

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. Kakashi sat in the empty seat on Sasuke's other side.

"Why are we even having this meeting? Sasuke has chosen a wife already," Shikamaru asked. A few of the council members frowned at the fact that he did not use any honorifics.

"Well that's because he had chosen someone we don't even know! We can't have _any_ woman become Queen," Asabi exclaimed, frustrated.

"She couldn't have just entered the palace if she was not from a noble family," Ebisu said while correcting the position of his dark glasses. Some of the Council members agreed on that but still, Asabi rebutted.

"We have information on every noble family that has entered this palace but we do not have information on any pink-haired girl!"

"Are you implying that she had sneaked into the palace?" Kurenai asked.

"Impossible! Guards were placed everywhere, the palace was absolutely secure. We would have caught her if she had tried to sneak in," Danzou said.

"Then she _must_ be from a noble family. Check for any records that includes her. The prince has already chosen his Queen. There is nothing to discuss about. This meeting is over," Kakashi said in an authoritative voice. In the blink of an eye, he had managed to calm the Council down.

Sasuke stood up from his chair and started to make his way towards the doors. Kakashi and Naruto followed suit.

"Are we _finally_ going to meet her? Pink hair, huh? You're quite kinky, Sasuke," Naruto joked. Kakashi chuckled, his eyes fixed on the pages of his erotic romance novel.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke said in his attempt to stop Naruto from speaking anymore in case he ended up choking him to death. Naruto laughed at his response.

Sasuke had never thought he would finally pick a Queen. He thought he would be as stubborn as ever and decline _every_ candidate. But here he was, on the way to meet his future wife. What had caused him to choose her? Besides, how dangerous could a _pink_-haired girl ever be?

"I DEMAND YOU TO RELEASE ME NOW!"

The voice could be clearly heard from the other side of the hallway. It unmistakably belonged to her.

What has he gotten himself into?

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Hoho~! It looks like Sasuke picked someone that can't be controlled easily. I think you guys are wondering how these two polar opposites would start to fall for each other. Hehe. XD

Review~! :D


	3. Chapter 3

-Naruto still doesn't belong to me-

**The Prince**

Chapter 3: New Wife

Okay. Let me start by thanking ALL the people who favourited, followed, and commented on this story! :) I LOVE YOU ALL~! And also, a lot of you guys are suspecting that Sakura's a long lost princess. The part below in italics is another clue on who she is. I'm not gonna reveal it yet! XD

And I would appreciate any form of opinion !

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_"Sakura, this is for you."_

_ "What is it Mommy?" The child asked her green eyes wide as she played with the long chain. It was made from gold and something unfamiliar was carved onto it_

_ "It's a necklace. Wear it all the time, don't ever remove it," her mother said as she placed the chain around her tiny neck. The girl stared at her mother in confusion, but nodded her head. Her Mommy was always right. _

_ "Lady Haruno, the guests have arrived."_

_ Her mother kissed her forehead, "Go to the room with your brother and sister. Don't leave until I tell you to."_

_ She nodded and scurried off to find her siblings. _

_The last thing she saw that day was red._

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"Troublesome," he sighed as he flipped through pages and pages of documents.

"You would get more work done if you stop complaining," Asuma said as he entered the office. The whole room was dark and dusty, filled to the brim with files and documents containing information on noble families and the country's history. The more important documents were usually kept in the vault. Shikamaru heaved a loud, heavy sigh. He would rather sleep on the palace roofs than do this. It did not matter that most of the Council saw him as a lackadaisical person.

"Why do I have to do this?" He complained again as he took another stack of files from another shelf.

"It's because you're the youngest member of the Council."

"Which means I have to do all the dirty work?"

"Finally using that brain of yours, huh?"

Shikamaru grumbled incoherent words under his breath. "How am I supposed to find _one_ girl in all of this?"

"Maybe you should start with the letter H? Since her last name is Haruno," his ex-mentor offered as he looked around the room, studying the piles of papers.

_Haruno? That sounds familiar._

"Hey, Shikamaru. It's not in alphabetical order."

"…Troublesome," he sighed as he placed his head on the table with a heavy thud.

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Sasuke entered the guest room expecting to see some of his guards on the floor unconscious. Thankfully, there were no bodies.

"What do you mean I have to stay here?"

The pink-haired girl had her back facing him. She was facing one of the guards. She had removed her cloak and she was dressed in a white gown that hugged her body nicely. From where he was standing, she was quite petite.

"Your Highness!"

The guard had finally noticed his entrance and bowed in respect. The pink-haired girl turned around, surprise evident in her features.

"Wow. She really has pink hair, and she's actually quite cute," Naruto said as he walked closer to the girl. The girl's eyes widen in surprise and her cheeks flushed pink.

"It's hard to imagine this girl actually called you a soulless bastard," Naruto added, raising one of his eyebrows questioningly.

"Oho. She did. I was there. The whole room was in shock! I thought she was going to be killed on the spot for such felony. Fortunately, our dear Prince here had a thing for these types of women. The servants were spared from cleaning the blood off the floors and walls," Kakashi said over-dramatically.

Sasuke shook his head. The poor girl was probably scared out of her wits now that-

"I doubt your guards could take me down that easily," she challenged. Sasuke raised one of his eyebrows and smirked. How interesting, was she _challenging_ him?

"I approve of your wife, Sasuke!" Naruto said excitedly as he smiled his famous grin.

"Wha-? Wife! That's absurd! I have absolutely no intention to be this guy's wife," she said, her emerald green eyes widening with her finger pointing accusingly at him.

"No? Preparations are already being made," Kakashi added.

"What? Why do I have to be his wife? There are thousands of women who would be more willing."

"Didn't you say you could do a lot more good than I can?" Sasuke said. It was very amusing to watch her expressions. A myriad of expression flashed across her pretty features.

"You back away now and you prove that you're weak and useless," Sasuke added, his eyes narrowed at the girl, awaiting her response.

"_Weak?_ How dare you? Fine! I accept your challenge. I'll prove to you how capable I am," she said confidently as she took a step closer to him, jabbing a finger in his chest.

"Good. This will be your room for now. Make yourself comfortable. Kurenai will be in tomorrow to tutor you."

"Tutor? What for?" She asked, incredulous.

"Etiquette. I think you'll need it."

She frowned at the comment.

"Then, I'll see you soon," he said. He calmly took her hand and kissed it lightly. He took pleasure in watching her face turn a bright shade of red.

He turned around and left the room.

"I wonder if she knows that the 'challenge' she accepted was actually your proposal for her to be your wife." Naruto said casually.

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly, smirking.

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How was it? My chapters are kind of short. I hope you guys don't mind . Don't forget to review!

The first part is like a flashback. It's a clue to why she came to the palace in the first place. Ohoho~! HOW she got inside will also be revealed in due time~

Questions and suggestions are welcomed! :D


	4. Chapter 4

-Naruto _still_ doesn't belong to me-

**The Prince**

Chapter 4: The Hyuuga Clan

**Yo!**

**I'm posting this chapter now as the next two weeks I'll be busy preparing for exams~**

**Reply to some reviews:**

**Akira: I'm just borrowing Kishi's characters . This is an entirely new story **

**You know what? I think I suck at thinking up titles, lol. XD**

**I have decided that at the start of every chapter, in italics, would be some stories from Sakura's past. So you guys could have the pleasure of going detective and piecing the clues together! :D**

**What do you guys think so far~? ^_^**

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"_Ah! You must be her youngest daughter, Sakura. A fitting name," the man said._

_ "Sakura! I told you never to leave the room!" Her mother shouted. She was on the floor, covered in blood. The entire room, where Sakura's family would eat dinner was in a mess. Broken glass lay on the floor everywhere._

_ "Why would you tell her to do that? Don't be so stingy, Hikari," the man said, kicking her mother. _

_ Sakura stared at the man in horror. The blade he was carrying was covered in blood. He had a crazy grin on his face and his eyes were red. _

_ "Would you like to join your siblings, Sakura-chan?" The man said, stepping aside. Behind him were the bodies of her siblings, in pieces. The man laughed hysterically and threw something at her. _

_ The thing rolled towards her feet and Sakura looked down. She screamed and fell. She tried to back away. It was her sister's head, her eyes still open._

_ "How about it Sakura-chan? Do you want to play?" The man said as he pointed his blade at her._

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Sasuke walked down the long, never-ending hallway. He had tried searching for Sakura in her quarters, but she was not there. He had been searching for the past half hour. Sasuke intended to invite her to follow him to visit the Hyuuga Clan. The relationship between the Hyuuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan had been strained since his father went berserk. The visit could very well be the first step to strengthen their relationship.

He stopped when he heard familiar voices coming from the other side of the Kitchen doorway.

"Come on. Stop using your fingers to poke it and put some in your mouth," a male voice said.

"But it's so _long_," a female voice answered. _Sakura! What the hell is she doing?_

"I'm not asking you to put the whole thing in your mouth. Just take a small bite, you won't regret it, I promise," the male voice answered. _What's so long? What is she putting in her mouth?_

"But wouldn't the Prince be angry?"

"What? No! He wouldn't mind."

"Okay. If you insist."

Sasuke burst into the room, pushing the doors open with all his might. What the hell does she think she was doing?

"Prince!" Both of them chorused, surprised at his entrance.

But what he saw was not what he expected.

Sakura held a fork in her hand with a generous portion of what seemed like chocolate cake. She immediately dropped the fork and said, "I knew it! I shouldn't have touched the log cake."

_Log cake?_

Sasuke looked carefully at the large table. It was a really huge log cake. Probably a foot long! Why the hell is it that _long_?

"Your Highness, I thought you didn't like sweets so I offered Sakura some. She was licking some of the cream off with her fingers," the male said. Sasuke recognized him as one of the men who worked in the kitchen.

Sasuke stood at the door, speechless. So… It was a _Log Cake_?

"Prince? Are you okay? You look a little flustered," Sakura questioned, she closed the distance between them and placed her hand on his forehead with her other hand on hers, trying to gauge his temperature.

He backed away, surprised at the contact. No one had ever dared to get that close to him, they were either ridiculously scared of him or dead. There were only a handful of people that were not terrified of him, Naruto and Kakashi being one of them.

"You don't have to be so scared! I wasn't going to mess you're immaculate hair," she scoffed, folding her arms.

"Immaculate?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes! Immaculate! It seems to be spiked at the perfect angle. How is that possible?"

"For your information, no one is allowed to touch my hair."

She snorted, "Oho! You're hair must be very important then. So, you're saying it's naturally like that?"

"I should be asking that about _your_ pink hair, Sakura."

"My hair? Unlike yours, it moves with the wind!"

"Do I sense a hint of jealousy?"

"Jealousy? How incongruous! Why would I be jealous about your _hair_?"

"I beg to differ. If not, why are we having this ludicrous fight about my _immaculate_ hair?"

"Argh! You're so frustrating! I wish I could just cut your hair off!"

"Well then, why don't we have a challenge?"

"A challenge?"

"I will be attending a meeting with the Hyuuga Clan soon and I would like you to come along. The first person to win the Clan Leader's acknowledgment will be able to cut the other person's hair."

He knew that a girl like Sakura would never back down from a fight. He also knew that she did not have a chance at winning with her level of etiquette.

"I accept. I'll make sure you go bald, my dear prince," she said sarcastically, with a smile on her face.

He smirked. He was going to enjoy this.

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"This place is HUGE!" Naruto said excitedly as he continued to explore the little corners of the Hyuuga Residence like a child in a candy store.

"It is, and are you even _supposed_ to be here?" Sakura said matter-of-factly.

"Where Sasuke goes, I go," Naruto said as he walked back to Sasuke's side, "I'm like his bodyguard."

"What? Sasuke can't protect himself?" Sakura scoffed.

"He can, but he bruises like a peach," Naruto answered.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke growled.

"Just the other day he got this huge bruise from-" Naruto was cut off. Sasuke's hands stopped him from uttering another word. Sasuke could feel heat rushing to his face. Oh, Naruto was going to pay.

"Say another word and I will kill you," Sasuke said menacingly. He released his hands from Naruto's mouth when he nodded in agreement.

Sasuke turned around when he heard laughter. Sakura was laughing with her hand clutched to her stomach. "You guys must be pretty close," She said in between her laughter.

Before Sasuke could answer, a man with long dark brown hair and white eyes entered the room, "The clan leader will see you now."

The three of them entered the room.

"Welcome, Prince. It has been a long time," Hiashi said, sipping his tea. The entire room was filled with people with the same eyes, watching their every move. Sasuke bowed slightly before answering.

"It has, Hiashi-san. I came here with hopes that the relationship between our clans would improve."

"You do not actually have much of a clan, Prince. You are the only one left."

"That is true, but I will be ruling Konoha soon. I already have enough enemies as it is."

"I see. And this must be your fiancé."

"I am Haruno Sakura," she said politely bowing slightly.

Suddenly, the doors of the room burst open and three men came in dripping in blood. The entire room was suddenly in panic and the clan leader left his seat, "What is going on?"

Two of the men carefully laid the third men on the floor before answering, "We were attacked by bandits on the way back. Akio was badly injured but we managed to bring him here."

"Neji! Bring some men and make sure everyone is safe and that no bandits have entered the residence. Hanabi, go and find someone who can help heal Akio." Hiashi said urgently.

"There's no time he's lost too much blood. Get out of the way!" Sakura' shouted as she pushed the two men off Akio.

Sakura started to rip his clothes and clean the wound on the man's abdomen.

"You! Go get clean bandages," she ordered. The man stared at her in shock.

"What are you waiting for? GO!" Hiashi's loud voice echoed in the room and bounced off the white walls.

Sasuke watched in awe as Sakura started to clean the wound. The whole room went quiet when her hands started to glow a mint green and the wound started to miraculously heal itself. Hiashi backed away.

She wrapped the wound with the clean bandages and asked the men to carefully carry him to a room where he could rest.

The whole room was silent, staring at Sakura.

"How interesting, you're fiancé is a Healer," Hiashi said, breaking the silence.

"Impossible! Every one of them was murdered. It's impossible that she could survive," shouted one person from the crowd.

"That's right. You're father murdered all of them, didn't he? Prince."

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**OMG! XD**

**Soooo, peeps, Why do you think Sasuke's father killed the Healers? *wriggles eyebrows***

**Oh, Healers are like medic-nins :)**

**Don't forget to review~!**

**And I apologise if my chapters are too short! .**

**So from now on I shall give you guys' previews of the next chapter! 8D**

**Enjoy~**

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Neji hid in the shadows as he watched the dark figure. He was doing his usual peaceful rounds in the Gardens when he heard noises coming from near his area. The sun was setting and it was casting an orange like glow in the gardens. It was still too bright for even the most foolish bandits to try and enter their grounds. The trespasser was clearly suicidal.

He removed himself from his hiding spot when the dark figure had stopped moving. He charged towards the figure with his blade pointed at the dark figure's chest. But the hard metal, did not hit flesh. What had transpired was too fast for him to catch without his Byakugan. He had thought that he did not need to waste his energy using it since it was just _one_ bandit. Oh, how he was wrong.

The blade was knocked out of his hands and flew in the air. The next thing he knew, his trusty blade was pointed at _him_.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just pierce this blade through your heart," the dark figure said in a cold emotionless tone.

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	5. Chapter 5

-Naruto still doesn't belong to me-

**The Prince**

Chapter 5: Unanswered Questions

**I'm back, baby! XD **

**Here's another chapter! And seriously, I love you guys for commenting, reviewing, subscribing and also giving me support and LOVE! 8D**

**Please enjoy reading my new chapter.**

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_ The blade flew towards her and Sakura could only close her eyes. She could feel the liquid on her. But it was not her blood._

_ She slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes met her mother's. She had gotten up at the last minute to save her. Now, her mother's body lay limp after taking the blow for her._

_ "Mommy?" Her voice was shaking._

_ "Tch. Hikari was always bothersome," the man said as he removed the blade covered in her mother's blood from her chest._

_ "Maybe killing all of you is too merciful. I had planned to make Hikari suffer more for what she did," he tore his gaze from the blade and stared at Sakura. "I have no use for you now."_

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Neji hid in the shadows as he watched the dark figure. He was doing his usual peaceful rounds in the Gardens when he heard noises coming from near his area. The sun was setting and it was casting an orange like glow in the gardens. It was still too bright for even the most foolish bandits to try and enter their grounds. The trespasser was clearly suicidal.

He removed himself from his hiding spot when the dark figure had stopped moving. He charged towards the figure with his blade pointed at the dark figure's chest. But the hard metal, did not hit flesh. What had transpired was too fast for him to catch without his Byakugan. He had thought that he did not need to waste his energy using it since it was just _one_ bandit. Oh, how he was wrong.

The blade was knocked out of his hands and flew in the air. The next thing he knew, his trusty blade was pointed at _him_.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just pierce this blade through your chest," the dark figure said in a cold emotionless tone.

_A female? Wait, I recognize this voice._

"Sakura-sama?" he asked, unsure.

The dark figure lowered the blade and removed the hood that covered her face.

"Oh! You're one of Hiashi-san's bodyguards! I'm terribly sorry. I thought you were one of the bandits," she said, dropping the sword and helping Neji to his feet.

Neji stared at the pink-haired girl, bewildered.

"What are you doing out here?" He questioned her.

"..I was… taking a stroll," she said, her voice filled with uncertainty.

"You're lost," he stated matter-of-factly. Her face flushed pink.

"How did you know?"

"The Hyuuga Residence is a very large place. It's easy for someone to get lost."

"Then, do you mind sending me back to the guest room? I got separated when we were touring the area," she said sheepishly.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Neji asked his tone serious.

"Do what?" She answered feigning innocence.

"That speed and strength, you're not just a Healer?" He tried again, hoping that she would answer his question.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. If you don't want to send me back, I'll just find my own way back," she replied stubbornly as she turned around to walk away.

"Wait! Stop!"

He shouted too late, the ground beneath Sakura gave way and she fell into the trap. She shrieked.

He walked over to the giant hole and peered inside.

"Are you alright?"

"Do I look like I'm alright? What is this giant _hole_ doing here?"

"It's a trap in case bandits managed to past the border guards. I tried to warn you."

"Do you mind giving me a hand?"

He set the blade he was holding aside and reached out for her hand. She was heavier than she looked, but he managed to pull her out of the hole. When she was seated next to him and safe out of the hole, she started to laugh.

"This is hilarious, and why are you staring at me funny?" she said as she turned her emerald green eyes towards him. He blinked in surprise. He did not notice that he was staring.

"You know, its fine to laugh. I understand that you're the Clan Leader's bodyguard but you don't have to be so serious all the time," she added.

"I'm not his bodyguard. I'm his slave," he said coldly.

"I see. Just because you're a slave it doesn't mean that you're not allowed to have emotions."

"What would you know? You're the future Queen; you lived your whole life in luxury. You wouldn't understand what a slave like me would have to sacrifice!" he shouted, his voice filled with anger.

How could this girl think that she could possibly understand his life as a slave? His life that was predetermined by his father's birth, seconds after Hiashi.

"…You're right. I apologize. I wouldn't know how hard the life of a slave is. But, even if you're chains were broken, you would still remain a slave if you keep carrying that darkness with you forever. Only _you_ can change that."

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"Oi, teme, where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he started to look around.

"Sakura-sama is in the garden," another voice said.

"I'll go get her," Naruto said as he walked toward the garden.

"Thank you…" Sasuke said.

"Neji. My name is Hyuuga Neji," he said.

"Thank you, Neji-san," Sasuke repeated, "I should go to my fiancé."

"You're fiancé is very talented. Not only does she have the ability to heal she also has combat training," he stated. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Combat training?"

"I take it that you didn't know? It is very unwise to not know your fiancé. Especially since you would be spending the rest of your life with her," he stated once again before leaving Sasuke.

_Combat training?_

Sasuke walked in a daze towards the garden and stopped abruptly when he saw both Sakura and Naruto on their knees. They seemed to be searching frantically for something in the grass.

Naruto got up when he saw Sasuke.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke questioned.

"We're trying to search for something Sakura lost," Naruto answered, scratching his head.

"It's going to get dark soon. We won't be able to find anything without light. We could ask the maids to help search for it tomorrow," Sasuke said, bending down to help Sakura to her feet.

"No! I need to find it. Mother said never to let go of it," she said, ignoring him and frantically searching for it. Her eyes were dilated and she was breathing in short, shallow breaths. Her fingers were shaking as she continued to search for it. Sasuke bent down in front of Sakura. He placed his hands on her upper arms.

"Sakura! We can find it tomorrow," he tried to persuade her again.

"Don't touch me!" She shouted, pushing him away. "Don't touch me with those hands!"

She got up and ran out of the garden, leaving Sasuke stunned.

_You're father murdered all of them, didn't he?_

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(Authors Note: Only Sakura and you guys know that Sasuke's dad killed her parents. But Sasuke does not. Hope I didn't confuse you guys!)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Neji removed his soiled clothes and entered the warm tub. He closed his eyes and allowed the warm waters to envelope him. He could feel his body start to relax and unwind. He slowly opened his eyes, and reached out. His hands met something cold.

He stared at the long golden chain. It had an all too familiar insignia carved onto it.

The Uchiha Fan.

But, it was a different version, a version he had never seen before.

The Uchiha Fan was enveloped around a circle.

_Could it be representing another family?_

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**How was it? I would love to hear reviews and opinions. :)**

** I'm sorry! No battle royale. Not yet. Muahahaha! Look forward to **_**that**_**. **

**Oh! And I've been having these annoying thoughts of making an Alice in Wonderland theme for Naruto. ._.**

XXXXXX **Preview for Chapter 6 **XXXXXXXXX

Naruto turned to the dark-haired woman.

"So, Hinata-san, you're room or mine?"

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	6. Chapter 6

-Naruto still doesn't belong to me-

**The Prince**

Chapter 6: A Date?

**It's true that Hiashi said out loud the past king killed HEALERS. But he did not specifically say that her family was also murdered. Healers are given the gift to heal but they are not concentrated on one clan or family. :) Sakura just so happens to have the ability. Sasuke does not know that his father killed her family; he just knew he went berserk and killed countless people. On top of that he was pretty young. :) This was why he did not know his father killed her family.**

**I'm sorry if I confused you guys!**

**But anyways~! Enjoy this chapter of NaruHina. This is my first time writing NaruHina and I AM SO SORRY IF IT'S NOT UP TO STANDARD! OTL**

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_That was it. It was the end for her. _

_ She waited for the blade to pierce her but instead, the sound of metal hitting the ground echoed in the empty room._

_ The man had dropped the blade. He was clutching his head as if in pain._

_ "Go! I can't control it for long. Go!" The man shouted._

_ She took a last look at her mother before getting up._

_ She never looked back._

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Naruto took a deep breath, breathing in the fresh, crisp morning air.

"Wah! It feels good to wake up early!" He said enthusiastically as he stretched his arms and legs.

"Yoshi! Ikuzo!" He shouted.

"Dobe, shut up. We're still at the Hyuuga Residence, behave," Sasuke scolded, annoyed. Naruto turned around; Sasuke had bags under his eyes and looked as if he had not slept in days. Even though they had only stayed for one night in the Hyuuga residence.

"Teme! I can do whatever I want!"

"Hn. Dobe."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"I heard that they would serve Ramen for breakfast."

"Teme- What? Why didn't you tell me sooner? This isn't over, yet!" He shouted, breaking into a run towards the kitchen.

"Ramen~! Ramen~!" He sang to himself as he excitedly jogged towards the kitchen.

He stopped suddenly when he saw the girl with long dark hair that almost looked purple under the light. He instantly recognized her as Hiashi-san's eldest daughter.

"Hinata-san!" He shouted, trying to catch the girl's attention. She turned around at the mention of her name and her face instantly turned a bright red when she saw him. Was she not feeling well? He thought to himself.

"Na-Na-Naruto-san," she stammered.

"Hinata-san, where's the Ramen?" He asked.

"Ra-Ramen? We don't have any."

"WHAT! Where are you hiding the Ramen?" He shouted in disbelief, shaking the poor girl by the shoulders. Hinata instantly turned a brighter shade of red with their close proximity.

"Nooooo! Ramen~! Sasuke, I will kill you!" He wailed, "Oi, Hinata-san, are you okay? Hinata-san!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Shimura-san, you could have helped during the meeting! Having a peasant as a queen is unacceptable. The council would've listened if you had objected," Asabi said, barging into Danzou's office. He sat down at one of the chairs, and felt unbelievably irritated at Danzou's calm demeanour.

"Shimura-san, are you listening?"

Danzou looked up from his piles of documents and stared at Asabi with his visible eye.

"What makes you so sure she is a peasant?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry everything is going according to plan. All good things come to he who waits."

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"Na-Na-Naruto-san, you don't have to follow me. I'm feeling better," Hinata stammered as the both of them walked to wards the gates of the orphanage.

"I'm just making sure. You just fainted!" Naruto said.

He turned to look at her, but she looked away. He could see a light blush colour her cheeks.

"What do you do here?" Naruto inquired as he pushed the gates of the orphanage open. It was rusty and screeched as it was pushed open. The entire place was old and small. There was a tiny playground on the right.

As soon as they entered the area, children rushed out of the doors of the orphanage.

"Onee-san is here!" They shouted in excitement.

The next thing he knew, he was pushed aside. The children fought for her attention. It seemed like she came to the orphanage often.

He looked around the area, remembering his days as an orphan before he was sent to Kakashi. He could remember the days when he was alone. He remembered watching out of his windows as each and every one of his friends was adopted. Except for him. He remembered the cold stares they gave him. The Kyuubi vessel.

He stopped hoping that someone would adopt him and decided to make his own decisions. He hoped he would be able help rule Konoha. He trained hard and never looked back. Meeting Sasuke was one of the few things he remembered. The annoying, arrogant, bastard known as Prince Sasuke. The last surviving Uchiha in Konoha. Like him, he had also lost his family.

Naruto often lost to Sasuke, he was good at everything, nothing less from an Uchiha. But, he worked harder and harder every time. He was not going to lose to him.

"Onee-san, who's that?" Said a small voice.

Naruto snapped out of his reverie.

"Is he you're boyfriend?" Said another.

Hinata turned a bright shade of red.

"That's enough children. Stop harassing the poor girl," another voice said. A woman appeared from the doors of the orphanage, she had curly brown hair and thick glasses.

"Sensei!" the children chorused.

"Why don't you all play in the playground?" she suggested. The children all rushed towards the playground.

"Hinata-san, it's wonderful to see you again. The children kept asking about you," the woman said.

"Yako-san, how have you been?" Hinata replied politely.

"I'm fine. And who is this?" Yako said looking at Naruto.

"Uh... He is the Konoha Army General, Uzumaki Naruto-san. He is visiting out residence and decided to follow me to the orphanage," Hianta said, introducing him.

"It's an honour to meet you, Uzumaki-san. But isn't it strange to go to an orphanage for a date?"

"Da-Date?" Hinata stammered; her face turning a brighter shade of red, if that was even possible.

"Well, we shouldn't keep the children waiting, they've been waiting for you _all_ day," Yako said.

The three of them walked towards the playground, the children were running everywhere. Some were on slides while others on swings. Despite the playground being small, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Naruto's eyes travelled from one corner of the playground to the other, he stopped when he saw a young boy sitting all alone in a corner.

His smile faded, the boy reminded Naruto of himself.

But before he could walk towards the boy, Hinata was already there.

He could not hear what they were saying from where he was standing but the next thing he knew, the boy was playing with the other kids. Hinata returned to him with a small smile on her face.

"Thank you for coming with me," she said shyly.

"No, thank _you_. Where do you think we should have our next date?" Naruto replied.

"Da-Da-Da-Da-Date?" She stammered.

"You're not comfortable with me?"

"No! I'm very comfortable with you."

Naruto turned to the dark-haired woman. He moved his face closer to her, until his face was only inches from her.

"So, Hinata-san, you're room or mine?"

Her face turned a brilliant shade of red and she immediately fainted.

_Was I too forward?_ He thought to himself as he scratched his head.

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**Any advice? :)**

** GUYS! I was just wondering. When I say womaniser, which character would appear in your mind? KIBA or KANKURO? Or anyone else?**

** Oh! And what kind of wedding gift do you think Hiashi would give to Sasuke and Sakura? *Cough*NEJI*Cough* XD**

** I'm interested to know! :)**

XXXXXXXXXXX **Preview for Chapter 7** XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How about we resolve this my way?"

"Sakura-sama?" Hinata and Hanabi chorused.

"Both of you are fighting about power right? Who is stronger? Then, let's solve this with a fight," Sakura suggested.

_Fight? A match? Is she crazy?_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"Of course, both of you will be fighting against me," Sakura added.

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	7. Chapter 7

-Oh lol. If only Naruto belongs to me-

**The Prince**

Chapter 7: Wedding Gift?

**Okay Guys~! My National Exams are like really really close. So my updates would take a little longer than usual. SORRY! I know that you guys want me to write longer chapters but i'll sloooooowwwlllyyyy improve in my writing before making them longer. When I'm more confident in my writing the chapters will be longer! :D**

**I wrote this chapter while listening to Vocaloid songs. *Le sigh* Why aren't they real?**

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_Ever since then, everywhere she looked she would see __**him**__. She would see blood. She would hear screams. She would have nightmares. She would hear her mother's voice. She would hear __**his**__ voice._

_ She should have died._

_ She should have died._

_ She should have died._

_ She should have died._

_ Those same words kept repeating over and over like a mantra._

_ "Get out of the way you beggar. Stupid trash," a man said pushing her aside._

_ She was still wearing her old clothes, still covered in blood. Her mother's blood. _

_ She was not wanted, she was seen as trash. She was an orphan. She was a beggar._

_ She curled up in a corner hoping that the cold would provide her salvation. She had not eaten or drank anything for the past two days. It did not matter; she was going to join her mother willingly._

_ She held onto the necklace like it was the only thing keeping her sane. She could imagine her mother's warmth. Her mother's beautiful smile. The necklace was the only thing reminding her that she was not alone. _

_ "Come with me. You will be my slave from now on."_

_ Sakura looked up. A woman with brown hair stared down at her, dressed in beautiful clothes. She motioned for a man to pick her up and carry her to a nearby carriage._

_ Throughout the whole trip she kept thinking._

_ She should be dead._

_ Why did he let her live?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke walked out of the meeting room with his hands in his pockets. The meeting was longer than expected. Luckily, both their clans were able to agree on a treaty. With the treaty signed, they would be leaving the Hyuuga Residence soon.

Sasuke had been gone throughout the whole morning. He had not seen Naruto or Sakura.

Sasuke was about to head towards his quarters, when he heard voices coming from the window. Standing on the Hyuuga training grounds were the Hyuuga siblings, Hinata and Hanabi.

"I won't lose to you!" Hinata shouted.

"You're too weak Hinata. You'll never be able surpass me," Hanabi replied, her arms crossed.

The atmosphere was tense and a fight was about to break out when a girl with bright pink hair entered the scene.

"How about we resolve this my way?"

"Sakura-sama?" Hinata and Hanabi chorused.

"Both of you are fighting about power right? Who is stronger? Then, let's solve this with a fight?" Sakura suggested.

_Fight? A match? Is she crazy?_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"Of course, both of you will be fighting against me," Sakura added.

The sisters were bewildered. They were hesitant.

"We can't fight against the future Queen," Hinata said softly.

"What? Are you afraid? Don't you want to find out who is strongest?"

"We accept your challenge," Hanabi said, determined.

"There is only one condition: No weapons. Both of you can use any other methods. First person to take me down is the winner. Then, let us begin."

Almost immediately the sisters disappeared.

"Ah~, are we playing hide and seek?" Sakura whined. She walked casually to the middle of the training grounds.

Suddenly, two flashes appeared on each of her side. Hanabi appeared on Sakura's right with and arm aiming to hit her. Simultaneously, Hinata appeared on Sakura's other side with a leg aimed at her head.

Sasuke's eyes widened when Sakura stopped the two blows with ease. From where he was standing, Sasuke could not see her expression.

She easily flipped Hinata and threw her. Hinata hit her back roughly against a tree.

_Such strength. _Sasuke thought.

Switching her attention to the other sister, she twisted Hanabi's arm behind her back, limiting her movements. He could hear her cry of pain.

Hinata had gotten up and was rushing towards Sakura at high speed. At the last minute, Sakura threw Hanabi towards her. Hanabi crashed into Hinata and the sisters flew back.

"Is that it? You're clan will be in ruin if either of you take over," Sakura said. Sasuke felt shivers travel down his spine. Sakura's voice was cold and void of emotion.

He could see the sister's displeasure. Hinata got up first and ran towards her again trying to land a hit. Seconds after that Hanabi disappeared.

Sakura allowed her to come close and dodged her attack by slightly turning her body. She grabbed onto Hinata's arm and again, flung her into Hanabi that had tried to sneak up on her.

Both of them landed roughly on the ground.

"You're getting in my way! You _always_ get in my way!" Hanabi shouted to Hinata.

"Always? You're the one getting in _my_ way! Father loved _you_ most!" Hinata blurted out, tears streaming down her face.

"_Me?_ Father loved _you_ most! You were gentle and kind. So much like our late mother! I was jealous."

"_Jealous?_ I was jealous of _you_! You were always better than me when it came to fighting."

The sisters were taken aback. Neither knew how to respond.

"Well, my plan worked!" Sakura said happily. She neared the sisters and helped both of them up. "I guess fighting won't solve anything, ne? Both of you have different abilities, how about working together for a change?"

The sisters looked at each other and laughed. "Why didn't you just say so in the beginning instead of engaging us in battle?" Hanabi questioned.

"Both of you wouldn't have listened to me anyway. I just tried a different method."

"Now, I shall take my leave," Sakura said casually as if nothing had transpired. Before she could walk far enough, the ground beneath her gave way, _again_.

"Sakura-sama! Are you okay?"

"Another _hole_?" Sakura shouted in exasperation.

Sasuke chuckled. How could this clumsy Sakura be the same person he had seen moments ago? It was like two sides of a coin, completely different yet the same thing.

Without Sasuke realising, a third person had witnessed the match.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note: Okay. I made Sakura so badass! I can't help it, she IS badass! Right? Guys? O_O**

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"Sakura-chan! You're covered in dirt! What happened?" Naruto asked, bewildered at Sakura's dirty state. He removed a leaf from Sakura's hair.

"Nothing interesting," Sakura answered.

Naruto was about to say something else when the room became quiet signalling the Clan Leaders entrance into the room with the sisters in tow.

The people in the room openly stared at the sisters that were casually laughing together as if they were the strangest thing in the world.

Beside him, Sasuke could see Sakura's smile.

Hiashi stood in front of them.

"In all my years I have not seen my daughters so happy together. They would always be fighting. I assume that you have a part in this?" Hiashi asked Sakura.

"I did nothing, Hiashi-san. Your daughter's just put aside their differences," Sakura answered smiling.

Hiashi shook his head, "I have witnessed the whole thing. You accomplished what I couldn't: bringing my daughters together. My late wife would have been pleased."

He switched his attention to Sasuke, "Prince, you better take care of her properly. She's a rare find. If I hear that you mistreat her, my guards will be at your door."

Sasuke started to sweat, was he_ threatenin_g him?

"You have my gratitude, I have nothing to offer you," Hiashi said, but a moment later, he spoke again, "On second thought, I think I do."

He motioned for Neji to come closer.

"Neji, from now on you shall be Sakura's bodyguard."

Everyone in the room was surprised.

"I understand that you wish to further your training and you have already mastered most of what can be learnt in this Residence. I believe that you can learn much more in the palace. Of course, I wouldn't force you if you wish to stay," Hiashi added in a serious tone.

"I will go," Neji answered.

"EH?" Naruto and Sakura chorused.

"You are welcomed to come back whenever you please. Remember Neji, to me you are as precious as my daughters. My brother would have been proud of you."

Neji looked surprised.

"Then we shall take our leave," Sasuke said.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Finally!" Shikamaru sighed in relief.

He had spent hours searching for one single document and he had _finally_ found it. It was much thicker than he had expected.

He knew he was not supposed to open the file, but he _did_ spend most of his time searching for this damned file. It should be fine to take just a _small_ peek.

He flipped opened the file.

His eyes widened.

_No wonder Haruno sounded so familiar._ He thought to himself and immediately left the room to send the file to Kakashi.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**WOO~! Guess who won the challenge? OHOHO~! Looks like someone is gonna get a haircut~ :)**

**Review please because it makes me happy to read your views! :D**

**And due to popular demand, KIBA will appear as a womaniser! :) **

**Soon… Once I get down to it! XD**

XXXXXXXXXX **Preview for Chapter 8 **XXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura-sama. But when Danzou-sama said that I would be the future Queen's new bodyguard, I had suspected her to be much prettier," Sai said with a smile on his face.

Neji could see Sakura's eye twitch in annoyance. Naruto was holding back his laughter at the back. Both Danzou and Sasuke blinked in surprise.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sakura said in a low, threatening voice.

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	8. Chapter 8

-Oh lol. If only Naruto belongs to me-

**The Prince**

Chapter 8: The Pale Artist

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_Sakura __picked __up __the __dirty __rag __and __started __to __wipe __the __large __mirror. __It __had __been __two __years __since __she __had __been __taken __in __by __her __master. __It __had __also __been __two __years __since __her __family__'__s __murder._

_ She stopped wiping the mirror. Her face was reflected on the mirror. Her pink hair in a mess and she had bags under her eyes._

_ Suddenly, another image appeared._

_ Her mother._

_ Sakura looked into her mother's pale blue eyes. Was she hallucinating?_

_ Her mother engulfed her in a hug, wrapping her arms around Sakura's small frame and kissing the back of her head._

_ "Always remember that Mother loves you."_

_ "Always remember **that ****it ****was ****your ****fault**,"_

_ Her mother's eyes turned red and her fingers covered her throat in an attempt to kill her. She saw blood._

_ She stumbled back and knocked something._

_ A crash could be heard at the back of her mind but she was too preoccupied staring at her fingers that were covered in blood. _

_ Blood._

_ She was unsure whose blood it belonged to._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Neji entered the huge palace. Everybody seemed to be greeting them, but the prince only answered with only a "Hn."

He still could not grasp what had happened. He thought that Hiashi had not really cared about him and decided to just keep him as a slave. But the truth was Hiashi was afraid of letting him go. Since Neji was the only thing his brother left behind, Hiashi wanted to keep him safe. He did not want to lose him the same way he lost his brother.

The truth still shook him.

All this while, he had hated Hiashi for keeping him as a slave and restricting his potential.

But now he was free.

He looked at the pink-haired girl in front of him. Her hair was tied up in a bun revealing the back of her neck. Some stubborn strands still fell out of the bun framing her face. She had changed her attire and was dressed in a long flowing dress adorned with lace. He was her bodyguard now.

He was going to protect her.

Protect her. His hands clenched around the chain. He had yet to return it. He wanted to know more before returning it.

His eyes flew to the Prince. He too was dressed in formal attire, fitting his position as Prince.

He had noticed that ever since they had arrived at the palace, Sakura was avoiding the Prince.

"Your Highness! Forgive me for interrupting, but Shimura Danzou-san requires your presence," a man said, bowing down.

Sasuke nodded.

"Then I shall return to my room," Sakura said.

"…No, forgive me but he requires your presence too," the man said.

"We shall be there shortly," Sasuke answered.

Sasuke lead the way to Danzou's office.

Once they arrived, they were greeted by a smiling Danzou sitting behind his desk.

"Ah, Prince, you have returned. Was your visit to the Hyuuga Residence beneficial?" Danzou said casually.

"It was better than expected. What did you want from me?" Sasuke said coldly. He seemed impatient and wanted to end the conversation quickly.

"I wanted to see the future Queen actually. Since she would be important to the people of Konoha, she would need someone to protect her."

"That would be unnecessary. I am her bodyguard," Neji interjected, stepping forward.

"A Hyuuga? We don't know if we can trust you," Danzou said, his smile faded and his eyes narrowed at him.

"And I suppose we can trust _your_ choice of bodyguards?" Sasuke said.

Danzou turned his head towards Sasuke and narrowed his eyes further.

"She is _my_ bride," Sasuke reminded Danzou, "First; you need to introduce this bodyguard of yours."

Danzou nodded and motioned for someone to enter the room. A man with short jet-black hair and pale skin appeared. He was dressed in the usual armour fighters in the Konoha Army would wear but his armour almost seemed lighter as some of the metal plates were removed to enable him to move faster. Buckled to his waist was a small pack.

"This is Sai," Danzou introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura-sama. But when Danzou-sama said that I would be the future Queen's new bodyguard, I had suspected her to be much prettier," Sai said with a smile on his face.

Neji could see Sakura's eye twitch in annoyance. Naruto was holding back his laughter at the back. Both Danzou and Sasuke blinked in surprise.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sakura said in a low, threatening voice.

"I just think that it's safe to say that the Prince has _really_ _bad_ taste," he continued with the smile still plastered across his face.

Neji saw what transpired next but he was too slow to prevent it. Sakura's fist flew towards Sai and hit him in the face. Sai flew back from the impact.

Sai sat up, "She's barbaric too."

"WHAT?" She shouted. Neji could feel her angry aura. Before she could get close to Sai, Naruto appeared and stopped her.

He easily wrapped his arms around Sakura and lifted her off her feet. He placed her on his shoulder like a parcel.

"Okay, Sakura-chan~! I think it's time for you to get some rest," Naruto said happily, carrying her out of the room.

"Put me down! I'm not done with him yet!" She protested, wriggling against Naruto's strong grasps.

Naruto ignored Sakura's protests and shouts and walked away.

Neji could still hear Sakura's shout, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Neji turned around to leave the room to follow Sakura, but he was stopped by Sasuke.

"She's safe with Naruto," Sasuke said, not looking at him.

"I don't think my fiancé is fond of your choice," Sasuke said addressing Danzou.

"I believe Sai's abilities surpass the Hyuuga's. Sai would make sure that Sakura-sama does not… forget her task," Danzou said.

_Her __task?_

"Tch. Do what you wish. I have no patience to fight with you, Danzou. But, Neji will remain as Sakura's bodyguard," Sasuke said, leaving the room.

"Sakura-sama does not need two bodyguards," Neji protested when the both of them left the room.

"No. She can protect herself," Sasuke said in a whisper, "But, I want you to keep an eye on Sai."

Neji blinked in surprise but nodded. Sasuke left, leaving him with Sai.

"So, are you a woman?" Sai said looking at Neji's long hair.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke barged into Kakashi's room and found Shikamaru and Naruto already there. Kakashi combed his silver hair with his hands and sighed out loud. Both Shikamaru and Kakashi had a serious look on their faces while Naruto still had a silly grin on.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke questioned.

"We were just discussing about the engagement party that is going to be held a few days from today," Naruto said.

"Ah, we haven't informed Sakura's parents about the engagement," Sasuke said.

"There isn't a need to," Kakashi said his hands on a thick file.

"…Huh?" Naruto said.

"Her parents are dead, she's an orphan," Shikamaru interjected.

Naruto's smile faded.

Kakashi sighed again.

"Your father murdered her family, Prince."

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**OMIGOD~! ****SASUKE ****KNOWS!****_**

** Okay~! Looks like there will be some problems in their relationship! **

** Please review~! 8D**

XXXXXXXXX**Preview****for****Chapter****9** XXXXXXXXXXXX

He dug into his pocket and fished out the chain. Sakura's smile faded and she jumped towards him, her hands outstretched for the chain. He did not expect Sakura to react that way and fell back with Sakura on top of him. He was trapped underneath her.

"Please give it back," She said, her hand reached out to grab the chain but Neji stretched his hand further to keep it out of her grasps.

"What are you going to do for it?" Neji whispered in a low tone.

XXXXXXXXXXXX


	9. Author's Note

**OKAY ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE PRINCE'S AUTHOR.**

My National exams will start this coming Monday. And I am freaking out. xD

Okay, since its so near, i will not be updating this story until **15th November 2011** which is the last day if my examinations.

I am terribly sorry that you guys will have to wait until then. I felt soo guilty that i needed to inform you guys when my next update will be.

OTL **I'M SORRRRRYYYY**!

Love, Kokkilamb


	10. Chapter 9

-WTFBBQ~! Why doesn't Naruto belong to me? D8-

**The Prince**

Chapter 9: Guests! 

**Wassup~! I thank you all for patiently waiting for this chapter! I'm aware that its flipinochick's birthday. Soo~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY! xD**

**Well over here in Singapore it's already 15 November. I don't know about you guys xD**

**And I'm not just going to post ONE chapter of The Prince; I'm going to publish another story called SAKURA IN WONDERLAND. **

**So guys, please read and review that too! xD**

**Oh! And another surprise~! My darling younger sister LOVES to draw so she's been drawing The Prince's characters and posting them up on Deviantart!**

**The link to her Deviantart is on my profile page peeps! So check it out!**

**So without further ado, CHAPTER 9~**

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_Her __master __entered __the __large __house __with __Sakura __in __tow. __She __obeyed __her __master__'__s __order __to __keep __her __head __down. __She __was __wearing __a __dark __and __extremely __heavy __cloak. __Sakura __was __not __very __sure __why __her __master __wanted __her __to __follow. __She __was __afraid __that __she __was __going __to __be __sold __away __just __like __some __of __the __other __slaves __who __were __deemed __as __useless._

_ "Wait here."_

_ Sakura heard her master and immediately stopped. The sound of her loud heels hitting the floor slowly started to become faint. She heard a door close._

_ Sakura lifted her head, and removed the heavy hood off her head. It was rare for her to be able to leave her master's mansion and even if she had the chance to leave to run some errands, she had to wear a heavy dark cloak around. _

_ She was unsure why she had to, but she figured it must be due to her strangely coloured hair._

_ "You have pink hair."_

_ Sakura turned around. She quickly placed the hood back over her head. If her master found out, she would be severely punished._

_ "Are you the girl my Father is talking about?"_

_ Sakura wrapped the cloak around her more tightly. She was not supposed to be talking to anyone._

_ "Don't worry. I won't hurt you. My name is Shikamaru."_

_ Sakura lifted her head and took a look at the boy. He was about her age._

_ "My name is Haruno-"_

_ She was cut off before being able to finish her sentence._

_ "I told you not to communicate with anyone!" Her master grabbed Sakura's arm and dragged her away from the boy._

_ "Aiko! You should stop! She's just a kid," another male voice could be heard. The man looked like an exact copy of the boy._

_ "You can't tell me what to do Shikaku. Once the girl is old enough, she'll be worth a lot of money," her master answered, her voice shrill._

_ "Her family is dead, Aiko. They won't be able to pay you."_

_ "No. The black market will. A lot of people are willing to pay millions for a noble of this girl's status, especially if she is from a family so strongly connected to the Uchihas."_

_ "Aiko!" The man took a step forward as if to stop her._

_ "I suggest you stay with your family, Shikaku. If you're not going to help me, I'll find someone else who is more willing to help."_

_ Sakura was forcefully grabbed by the arm and literally dragged out of the room. _

_ It was the last time she was ever allowed out of the mansion._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was dark and Neji stood uncomfortably outside of Sakura's room. He knocked on the large doors and waited for an answer. When there was none, he entered the room. He found Sakura sitting on the bed staring into space, still dressed in her long flowing gown.

"Sakura-sama?" He said.

Sakura snapped out of her reverie and looked at Neji. A smile spread across her face.

"Ah! Neji-san, I didn't near you come in," Sakura said, standing up from the bed.

"I knocked, Sakura-sama," Neji said, bowing in respect.

"Don't call me that. It brings too much painful memories," she said in a small voice.

"What?"

"I mean why don't you try calling me Sakura? Sakura-sama sounds a little too formal for my liking."

"…."

"Sa-Ku-Ra," she said, emphasizing each syllabus in her name.

"…Sakura," Neji said awkwardly.

"Doesn't that sound better? Do you mind if I call you Neji?"

"No."

She smiled again. "Then, what did you need from me?"

He dug into his pocket and fished out the chain. Sakura's smile faded and she jumped towards him, her hands outstretched for the chain. He did not expect Sakura to react that way and fell back with Sakura on top of him. He was trapped underneath her.

"Please give it back," She said, her hand reached out to grab the chain but Neji stretched his hand further to keep it out of her grasps.

"What are you going to do for it?" Neji whispered in a low tone.

Sakura tore her gaze from the chain and looked at Neji straight in the eye. "What do you want me to do?"

Neji's eyes widened in surprise, he was not expecting Sakura to respond that way. He had thought that she would beat him to a pulp instead to get the necklace back.

When Neji did not respond, Sakura spoke in a whisper, "Close your eyes."

"Eh?" Neji responded confused. He could feel his ears and neck start to burn up. But he complied and closed his eyes.

..

..

..

..

..

Neji opened his eyes when moments passed and nothing had happened. He noticed that the necklace in his hand was gone and that Sakura had already stood up placing the necklace around her neck.

He was tricked.

He was tricked by such simple trick!

He started to feel depressed.

He was a disgrace to the Hyuuga clan.

He stood up and laughed lightly, combing his hair with his fingers.

He walked towards the door now that he had returned the chain.

"It looks like the Prince is going to have trouble seducing you," Neji said casually.

"Seduce?" Sakura said, confused.

"Of course. He can't rebuild his clan on his own," Neji said with a smirk on his face when Sakura blushed.

He turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. When he turned around, Sai was standing with his back resting on the wall, his arms crossed.

"Were the two of you having a girl talk?" Sai said, smiling.

"…For the last time, I'm a man," Neji said, exasperated.

"Are you sure?" Sai said his eyes travelled down to between Neji's legs.

Neji was _so_ close to hitting him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke entered the large room once again. It was once filled with countless women of different ages and backgrounds. Now the ballroom was being transformed, decorated with flowers and many other extravagant decorations to fit with the upcoming engagement party. He sat once again on the throne, letting his mind wander.

Sakura's parents were dead.

They were _brutally __murdered._

Sakura was the only surviving member of the Haruno family. He still had not learnt the background of the Haruno family since Sakura's files did not contain any information pertaining her family's background except that they were dead. The files were definitely missing or were stolen. He sighed inwardly and closed his eyes, resting his chin in his hands. Thinking about it gave him a headache. He did not know how to face Sakura.

But it was not his fault.

Right?

"Sasuke!" A shrill female voice shouted.

Sasuke's eyes flew open, and in front of him stood a pretty young blonde. She was dressed in the finest silks decorated with gems and expensive jewels. Her long hair was tied up in a high ponytail and her long bangs covered one side of her face.

"Ino, what do you need?" Sasuke sighed.

"Who is this woman you're marrying? I thought you were marrying me!" Ino shouted, flailing her arms around.

"…I chose her not you."

"How mean! Aren't I recommended by most of the Council members? Why marry a peasant?"

"The one who is marrying is me, not the Council members. I am entitled to pick my own wife."

"I object! I object! I ob-" Ino could not finish her sentence, a hand covered her mouth.

"You're too loud you troublesome woman," Shikamaru said.

"OW!" Ino had bit Shikamru's hand and ran out of the room.

"Ha~ Women are troublesome. You have my sympathy, Sasuke, " Shikamaru scoffed.

Before Sasuke could reply, the large doors of the ballroom opened, and the guests that he had been expecting had finally arrived. A group of people entered the room. Shikamaru nodded to Sasuke and left the room. Kakashi appeared from behind Sasuke and smiled underneath his mask. Sasuke left his seat and walked towards the group to greet them.

There were three people. The woman had blonde hair which was gathered into four ponytails and dark green eyes. She was dressed simply in a long white dress. She was fanning herself with a small fan. The other had dark brown hair and dark-coloured eyes. He was dressed in a robe that covered most of his body. **(AN:****You ****guys ****can ****imagine ****whether ****he ****had ****face ****paint ****on ****or ****not. ****I ****prefer ****him ****without! ****8D)**The last person was a slightly shorter man with bright red hair. He too was dressed in robes that covered most of his body. He instantly recognized him as the ruler of Suna.

"Welcome to my palace. I hope that you're stay here would be pleasant. You're rooms have already been prepared. My servants will show you the way. I'm sure you would like to rest after your long trip," Sasuke said politely while ordering some of his servants to show them the way.

"Where is the bride? I heard she had pink hair," the taller man said while looking around the room.

"Idiot," the blonde smacked the taller man on the head with her fan, "Introduce yourself first."

"Forgive my brothers," the blonde said awkwardly while smiling, "I am Temari, this idiot is Kankuro," she said pointing at the taller man, "and this is Gaara," she pointed at the redhead.

"It is a pleasure to meet the Sand Siblings and also the ruler of Sand. I am Uchiha Sasuke, next ruler of Konoha," Sasuke said.

"The pleasure is all ours," Temari replied.

Before Sasuke could say another word, the large doors opened again, signalling the entrance of another long awaited guest.

A man with brown hair dressed in expensive looking clothes appeared. He seemed to be wearing… fur. He entered the room with his head held high, walking confidently towards Sasuke.

"Looks like he's here," Kakashi whispered to Sasuke.

"Who?" Sasuke whispered back.

"Wah! He's here," Naruto whispered.

"Who? And why are you here I thought you had training?"

"I heard _he_ was coming, so I came," Naruto replied easily.

"_Who?_" Sasuke asked again, exasperated.

"The conqueror of many," Kakashi answered.

"He doesn't look like much of a fighter," Sasuke replied, confused.

"Do you really not know him?" Naruto whispered, incredulous.

"Am I supposed to?" Sasuke replied.

"I wasn't talking about his fighting skills, Your Highness. He is the conqueror of many _women_," Kakashi explained.

"The Casanova of the Inuzuka Clan," Naruto interjected.

**(AN:****This ****whole ****dialogue ****happened ****while ****the ****three ****of ****them ****were ****whispering ****like ****idiots. ****You ****can ****imagine ****it ****happening~! ****xD)**

The three of them stared at the man that had brown hair and canine like features.

"Are you all just going to stare at me?" Kiba asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**The entrance of INO and the WOMANISER (KIBA) xD**

**How was it?**

**Leave a review pleaseeee~! 8D And just so you know, I encourage ramblings in the reviews xD**

XXXXXXXXX **Preview****of****Chapter****10** XXXXXXXXXX

Neji wanted to dig through the mountain of papers to find the file with Sai's name on it. But he knew he was gone for far too long. He walked towards the door and grabbed the door handle.

It did not budge.

He was locked in.

XXXXXXXXX


	11. Chapter 10

-Unfortunately. I don't own.-

**The Prince**

Chapter 10: When Night Strikes

**Hey guys. I am truthfully grateful to you guys who have read this story. I am thankful to those people who reviewed, liked and subscribed to this story. I am aware that my English and writing skills are not that good. Hence, I am infinitely grateful for ALL the support.**

**I'm trying to improve on the flow of the story~! :3 And also I'm sorry if the characters are OOC.**

**I hope you continue reading and enjoying my stories. :)**

**And~ I present to you Chapter 10 of The Prince.**

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_ The doors of her Master's mansion opened._

_ "Where is she?" a booming, female voice shouted._

_ "Excuse me, you are not allowed here! Call the guards immediately!" Her Master ordered. Sakura peeped through a narrow opening of a door gap. She could see her Master's back profile, but she could not see the visitor clearly from her position._

_ "You have no right to hide her!"_

_ "No right? I found and fed her!"_

_ "The only reason you're keeping her is to obtain wealth."_

_ "…How do you know this? Who are you?"_

_ "That is none of your business. We kindly ask you to return the girl before we choose to do this in a much more uncivilised manner."_

_ "…You dare lay a finger on me?"_

_ "You have three seconds before we search this mansion."_

_ "Get out!"_

_ "One."_

_ "Where are the Guards? Someone get rid of them!"_

_ "Two."_

_ "You will regret barging into my estate!"_

_ "Three."_

_ Sakura gasped when in her Master immediately hit the ground as soon as the person had reached three. She had been knocked out by a blonde woman with ponytails._

_ Their eyes meet._

_ Sakura ran from the door, but she had nowhere to escape._

_ Were they being robed?_

_ The doors of the room burst open and the blonde entered. Her amber eyes stared at her._

_ "Hikari? No. You're her daughter."_

_ Sakura was unable to speak. How did this woman know of her mother?_

_ "We need to get out of here before your Master regains consciousness. You're the last of the Haruno family."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you done staring?" Kiba said.

He had finally arrived at the palace, but instead of being greeted by the Prince he was being stared at after they had finished whispering furiously between themselves. He had been sent by his mother to come to the Prince's engagement party and strengthen the relationship between their clans.

He could recognise that the man with the dark hair was the Prince of Konoha.

The Prince opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud bark.

Akamaru appeared from behind him.

The group seemed surprised by Akamaru's entrance.

"Wah! He's huge," Kankuro and Naruto chorused.

He walked confidently to the group and bowed slightly, "It's an honour to meet the ruler of Sand and the Prince of Konoha."

"And also such a pretty lady," he added, kissing the back of Temari's hand.

Temari blushed.

"Oi, get your hands of my sister," Kakuro said, threateningly.

Temari smacked the back of Kankuro's head, "Don't be rude!"

Kiba smiled mischievously.

_Too __easy,_he thought to himself. At the same time Akamaru growled and started pulling on Kiba's coat. He sighed inwardly. Akamaru hated it when he was getting comfortable with women. Akamaru seemed to growl at every woman he met!

He tore his gaze from Temari when he saw a flash of pink appear from behind the throne. His looked at the pink haired woman. She was dressed in a dress that showed off her shoulders, her dress was simple yet it showed off her beauty. Her long pink hair was tied up on one side of her head. The other side of her head was decorated with small flowers. She timidly appeared from behind the throne, her emerald green eyes wide.

_Target acquired_, Kiba said to himself.

Her eyes met his. He smiled his famous grin that had many women weak in the knees.

_This __is __going __to __be __easy._

She walked briskly towards him.

_Wah!__Way __too __easy._

She briskly walked _past_ him.

_What?_

Kiba turned around and found that the pink haired girl was hugging Akamaru.

"Wah~! You're so cute!" She cooed.

Akamaru barked excitedly.

_Huh? __How __strange. __Akamaru __hasn__'__t __bitten __her __yet. __I __though t__he __hated __women?_

"Am I being ignored?" Kiba said. The girl lifted her head and looked at him. She frowned.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He could hear the people in the room trying to hold back their laughter. How could she not know him? Kiba continued to stare at the girl, confused.

"It's rude to stare at someone's lover like that," Sasuke said to Kiba.

"Lover? Who's you're lover?" Sakura said her arms crossed across her chest. "I'd rather be this dog's lover, ne?" She said once again snuggling up against Akamaru.

The people in the room were once again tried to hold back their laughter.

Suddenly, Akamaru barked excitedly again. He pushed Sakura causing her to lose her balance and fall on Akamaru's back. He dashed out of the room with a laughing Sakura on his back.

"Oi! Akamaru!" Kiba shouted.

"Looks like you've been dumped," Naruto said casually.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Neji ran down the hallway. He had lost sight of Sakura. He could not understand how she had managed to disappear.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had kept an eye on her," Sai commented, folding his arms.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're her bodyguard too. We'll split up, we'll cover more ground that way," Neji replied.

Sai nodded and ran towards the West side of the palace. Neji ran towards the East side. He had expected that protecting the future queen would be an easy job for him compared to protecting his clan leader. His clan leader always seemed to be facing some sort of dangerous external threat. He never thought that being Sakura's bodyguard would be much harder.

He turned to his right and walked right into a large room, filled to the brim with documents and files.

The room was in total disarray.

Files and documents were piled on the floors. Pieces of paper covered the floors of the room. There was barely any room to walk.

He was about to leave the room when he say a familiar name on a file. Neji walked slowly to the file, careful not to knock over any piles of documents. He grabbed the file and removed it from the shelf. Dust flew everywhere, causing his eyes to water.

At the front page one word was written in capital letters: **SAI**

Before he could flip open the file, he heard footsteps.

He quickly hid behind one of the bookshelves, hoping that the piles of documents would provide him some cover.

The door opened.

A man with spiky black hair entered the room. Followed closely behind was a blonde woman.

"But Shikamaru, Sasuke was supposed to be engaged to _me_! Who is this peasant anyway?" The blonde said.

"You'll meet her soon, Ino," the man answered lazily while picking up a piece of paper from a nearby desk.

"What's so special about her?"

The man shrugged, "I heard she called him a soulless bastard."

The two of them left the room, closing the doors behind them. It seems that there was supposed to be another woman engaged to the Prince.

While he was standing up, Neji accidentally hit one of the shelves. Piles of documents, files and paper rained down on him mercilessly. He was completely covered with paper.

Neji grumbled under his breath and tried to stand up.

He had lost the file with Sai's name on it.

Neji kicked the shelf in frustration. As if responding to his kick, a large file landed on his head.

He picked up the large file.

_Haruno __Hikari._

"Haruno?" Neji read out loud. Could this person be related to Sakura in some way?

Neji wanted to dig through the mountain of papers to find the file with Sai's name on it. But he knew that he was gone for far too long. He walked towards the door and grabbed the door handle.

It did not budge.

He was locked in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You should return Akamaru to Kiba, Sakura," Naruto said petting Akamaru on the head.

"Akamaru can return to his master whenever he wants. He just prefers to stay with me. Right, Akamaru?" Sakura stubbornly said, cuddling up against Akamaru.

The humongous dog barked excitedly.

Suddenly, Naruto's smile faded and his hand reached for his sword. In the speed of light, he unsheathed his blade and stabbed the ground.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Sakura shouted.

Akamaru started to bark loudly at something on the ground.

"I missed," Naruto said.

The snake hissed at him coiling around the tip of the sword that was impaled on the ground. The snake looked familiar. He was sure he had seen in somewhere.

Sakura walked over to him and pushed him aside. With great ease, she lifted his heavy sword and removed it from the ground. Naruto lifted his brows questioningly; his sword was known to be extremely heavy. Yet a small petite woman like Sakura could easily lift the sword as if it was as light as a feather.

"Naruto! You could have killed the snake," Sakura scolded.

"That was the point, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied, confused.

Sakura only shook her head in reply and gently picked up the snake. She let it slither up her arms.

Then he noticed; the snake had red eyes.

He grabbed the snake by the throat and looked at the snake in the eye.

"SASUKE!" He shouted at the snake. The snake hissed in response.

"Sasuke?" Sakura questioned.

"Well, it's not actually Sasuke, but a part of him," Naruto tried to explain.

"That _snake_ is a part of him?" Sakura asked again, this time looking at Naruto with a worried face.

"It acts like a guardian. Its sole purpose is to protect its owner once it is conjured up."

"I see. That makes sense. I didn't know the Prince could do that."

"What the snake feels, hears and sees, Sasuke can too. That's how it acts as a guardian."

"What's it doing here?"

"Sasuke doesn't usually conjure up the snake often. My guess is he sent it to protect you."

"Protect me?"

"He seems to like you, Sakura-chan," Naruto grinned, watching Sakura's face turn pink.

"W-What are you talking about?"

Naruto chuckled, "I never thought he would pick a wife. Ever. But, he picked you. That's got to mean something."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke massaged the back of his neck. It was troublesome to have guests coming over, but it was necessary as it was important to repair those severed ties. His Father had done a lot of damage. It was going to be difficult to gain their trust.

Sasuke stopped abruptly when he sensed someone in front of him.

"Sakura."

"Hello, Prince," Sakura greeted, bowing her head slightly.

"What are you doing here? Where's Neji and Sai?"

"I lost them," she shrugged.

"You lost them? They're your bodyguards they should be with you all the time."

"I can take care of myself, Prince," Sakura lifted up her arm, revealing a long snake coiled around her arm. She stroked the head of the snake lightly with the tip of her fingertips. Sasuke could feel Sakura's light touch.

"Naruto told you," Sasuke stated.

Sakura smiled and released the snake from her arm. It slithered back to him. "I appreciate it but I don't need your protection."

Sasuke frowned. Sakura turned around to leave. But he spoke, "Do you hate me?"

Sakura stopped in her tracks. Without turning around, she answered, "So, you found out?"

"Yes."

"I hoped that you wouldn't find out."

"Do you hate me, Sakura?" Sasuke repeated his question.

There was silence and Sakura walked away, leaving his question unanswered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru sat on his chair and stared at the red carpet.

_Haruno_.

He was sure he had heard that name before, but he could not remember clearly when.

He has yet to meet the Haruno girl, since every time he had the opportunity to meet her, he would be drowning in paperwork courtesy of Asuma.

"Oi, Shikamaru. Are you listening to me?"

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. He chose to remain quite ignoring the blonde, when he was hit by a sharp object.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Shikamaru rubbed the area on his head that got hit.

"You weren't listening to me," Ino whined, a hand on her hip.

"Tch. Women, troublesome."

"What? Here have some pie." Out of nowhere, she pulled out a piece of pie and stuffed it forcefully in his mouth at the same time; she was scolding him for calling her troublesome.

Shikamaru heard footsteps nearby and almost immediately, Ino withdrew her hand. She was suddenly composed and a small smile was plastered across her face.

"Oh my! Nara-san, you shouldn't try to swallow everything at once. You might choke," she said in a calm, demure tone.

The maid that had happened to pass by tried to suppress her giggle and walked away. Shikamaru coughed, "Who's trying to choke who?"

As soon as the maid walked away, "You're lucky I didn't stuff the _whole_ thing in your mouth."

Shikamaru groaned loudly.

_This_ was the Ino only _he_ knew about. The Yamanaka Ino he had grown up with. She would be loud, obnoxious and _troublesome_ all at the same time. Which is a very commendable feat. Yet, she had qualities only he knew about. She had a liking for flowers and had owned her own greenhouse just for her plants. She loved to spend time in her greenhouse and he would gladly join her.

"Do you think Sasuke would like me in purple for the engagement ceremony?"

Unfortunately, she had already set her sights on the Uchiha.

Shikamaru turned to look at her. Her blue eyes were looking expectantly at him.

"You'll look _fat_," he answered simply in a monotonous voice.

"Say that again, Shikamaru!" Her fist flew towards him. He easily dodged it and jumped out of the chair.

How could he have fallen for such a _troublesome_ woman?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is useless!" Neji shouted as he tried once again to get the door to open. He activated his Byakugan and observed his surroundings. There was no one nearby the area and he was sure that it was already dark.

He sighed and decided to sit down leaning against the door.

He lifted the heavy file he was holding and flipped it open.

His eyes widened when he saw a picture of a body in a grotesque position, her body completely covered in multiple stab wounds.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"_Do you hate me?"_

Sasuke had asked that question so blatantly. Yet, she walked away refusing to provide him with an answer. It frustrated him that she was keeping secrets from him. He used his hands as a pillow as he lay on his bed. He could not sleep. He was unable to do so. His mind was completely filled with questions, thoughts and Sakura. He sighed.

As his eyes started to close, he felt another's presence in his room.

He sprung out of his bed in the nick of time as the blade that was meant for his heart was impaled into the bed. Feathers and sheets flew as Sasuke adjusted his eyes to the darkness to be able to see his enemy. The only source of light available was the moonlight shining generously through the window.

"Who are you? An assassin?" He asked the shadow standing before him. His enemy was fully covered in black, a large cloak covered most of his body and all that Sasuke could see was the lower portion of his face. It was not enough to the able to recognise who the assassin was.

Sasuke reached for his sword and fell into his battle stance. He watched cautiously as his enemy removed his weapon from the bed.

His enemy smiled.

It sent chills down Sasuke's spine. But an Uchiha was never scared. Neither did they ever back down from a challenge.

"Fine. We'll end this quickly," Sasuke challenged confidently, pointing his sword at his enemy.

With lightning speed, he raced forward. Metal came in contact with metal. His enemy was quick as he kept dodging every attack. The sounds of metal crashing against metal echoed in his bedroom. His enemy rushed towards him. Sasuke tried to escape and dodge the attack but he was too late. His enemy kicked him in his stomach causing him to lose his balance. Not only that, his enemy kicked again causing him to fly across the room and land with a huge thud against his bedroom wall. Sasuke could feel pain across his chest, it seems like he had broken a couple of ribs. He coughed out blood.

His enemy lifted his sword an aimed his weapon towards Sasuke's heart.

But in the last second, he stopped. His sword inches from his chest. Sasuke lifted his head and smirked.

Sasuke grabbed his sword quickly and aimed it towards his enemy. Unfortunately, he had managed to dodge it, but not completely. Blood dripped from the end of Sasuke's blade. His enemy clutched his stomach as the blood started to seep through his fingers. It could have been a fatal blow if his enemy had stayed still. But, the attack still managed to at least injure his enemy. It would be easier to capture him, if he ever tried to escape.

The doors of his bedroom burst open and a blonde man entered the room. His shirt was unbuttoned and his hair was unruly. In one of his hands, was his famous large sword.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, as he came running to his side.

Sasuke cursed himself for tearing his eyes away from the enemy. When he turned back, he had disappeared.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked helping him to his feet.

He grunted his response.

_Who __was __that?_

And then realisation hit him.

Sasuke quickly stood up and ran towards Sakura's room, ignoring Naruto's call.

He found Sai in front of Sakura's room.

"Your Highness! What happened?" Sai questioned rushing towards him.

"Sakura? Is Sakura safe?"

"I assure you that no one has left or entered her room, Your Highness."

Sasuke reached for the door handle and opened the room. There in the bed lay his Princess fast asleep. He walked towards her and sighed in relief. The assassin had not reached her. She was wrapped comfortably around thick covers.

"Oi, teme, do you want to wake her up?" Naruto asked quietly.

"No. I don't want to worry her," Sasuke answered as he stepped away from her and started to walk towards the door.

He looked at Sai and noticed something was amiss.

"Where is Neji?" He asked.

Sai smiled, "I have not seen him for the past few hours, Your Highness."

Sasuke nodded at Sai and left the room.

Neji's sudden disappearance was corresponding with the assassin's attack. He issued a command for Naruto to check on the other guests. He also issued an order for ANBU guards to be placed on high alert and search the grounds for trails belonging to the assassin.

Neji was not the only suspect.

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Sai waited for the Prince to leave. Once he was sure there was no one nearby, he entered Sakura's room.

"Sakura-sama," Sai called out.

The pinkette immediately opened her eyes, revealing bright emerald orbs. She removed the heavy bed sheets that covered her body.

"You're injured," Sai stated.

Sai eyed the dark stain on her black disguise. Her hands started to glow a mint green as she started to heal it.

"I see you have failed," Sai spoke again, "Danzou-sama would not be pleased."

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**IT'S LONGER!**

**I hope the quality didn't decrease as the quantity increased. ;A;**

**There are a lot of changes in the scenes. I hope you guys aren't confused.**

**Leave a review please! 8D**

XXXXXX **Preview for Chapter 11 **XXXXXXXX

He stealthily waited against the wall as the footsteps became louder. Before she could notice his presence, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her small waist. His free hand covered her mouth to stop her from shrieking. He brought her body close to his and placed his mouth near her ears.

"Cooperate and you will not be harmed," he whispered.

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	12. Chapter 11

-Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto-

**The Prince**

Chapter 11: Outing?

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_A __man __in __love __may __behave __like __a _**madman **_but __not __like __a _dunce_._

—_Francois, __due __de __La __Rochefoucauld_

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He stealthily waited against the wall as the footsteps became louder. Before she could notice his presence, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her small waist. His free hand covered her mouth to stop her from shrieking. He brought her body close to his and placed his mouth near her ears.

"Cooperate and you will not be harmed," he whispered.

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Kiba walked with his hands in his pockets with Akamaru next to him. The dog had returned to him happily without a hint of remorse after leaving with _his_ target. But he could not stay angry at the dog no matter how big the mistake. Akamaru was the one that had been with him through thick and thin when he was growing up. He could still remember the first time he had met him. Akamaru was so small he could curl up on his head and Kiba would be a mode of transportation for him. Now, he was way too big to be carried and it was Akamaru's turn to become a mode of transportation. They were inseparable.

He stopped abruptly. Akamaru followed suit and he started to sniff the surrounding air.

He smelt blood.

Using his strong sense of smell, he followed the scent.

"Whatcha doing?"

Kiba turned his head to see the blonde he had met the day before. In his hands he held a bowl.

"You are?" Kiba raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he answered proudly, smacking his chest.

"Ah. The bodyguard," Kiba's gaze fell to the bowl in his hands, "What's that?"

"Ramen! The palace chef banned me from entering the kitchen. He said something about eating too much food. So, I snuck in when there was no one around and stole a bowl," he answered happily.

Kiba stared at the blonde.

He opened his mouth to speak, when he noticed that the scent was getting stronger. He walked towards the scent, ignoring Naruto who was happily slurping his noodles.

"Oi! Where are you going?" Naruto questioned, his mouth filled with noodles.

Kiba stopped in front of a large door. The smell was faint, but being part of the Inuzuka Clan, he could sniff out even the faintest scents.

Akamaru barked at the door, confirming his suspicions.

"Do you smell that?" Kiba looked over at Naruto, who abruptly stopped his slurping to smell his surroundings. He scrunched up his nose and frowned.

"Yeah. I smell ramen," he continued his mission to completely empty the bowl.

Kiba scratched his head frustration, "Could you stop thinking about _ramen_ for _one_ minute?"

Naruto lifted his face from the bowl and frowned at him, "Ramen is one the most sought after delicacies! What did _you_ have for breakfast that could possibly rival the awesome taste of ramen?"

Kiba paused for a second and smirked, "I don't know. I can't remember her name."

That caused the ramen-lover to choke and cough.

Suddenly, the door opened.

A man he had not seen before appeared. His hair and eyes were a jet black, a contrast to his pale skin. He was tall and had a sinewy build.

"May I ask why both of you are standing in front of Sakura-sama's room?"

Naruto continued to cough.

Kiba frowned, "Sakura- sama? The Prince's bride?"

_Why __would __the __smell __of __blood __be __coming __from __her __room?_ Kiba asked himself.

"You mean you had a _woman_ for _breakfast_?" Naruto asked sceptically.

Kiba turned his attention to the blonde and smirked, "I don't remember specifying the number."

Naruto's jaw literally hit the ground, "That's amazing! You just _arrived_! How did you do it?" His bowl of ramen was completely forgotten.

He smiled revealing canine teeth, "There are many techniques to seduce women to your bed. The first step is usually turning her into mush with a deep kiss."

"I have read of this mating ritual."

Both Naruto and Kiba turned their heads to look at the man. "Mating ritual?"

"When a female and a male show affection to each other through the sharing of liquids from their mouths. I have read this in some books, though I have no clue as to why people do this. It seems to be completely unsanitary."

Kiba could do nothing but blink in surprise. What kind of books was he reading?

Naruto started to laugh loudly, clutching his stomach. He wiped the tears in his eyes before choking out, "Where's Sakura-chan?"

"I don't know. She's not in her room," Sai answered.

"What do you mean? Where's Neji?"

Sai shrugged nonchalantly.

"Naruto-san! Naruto-san! The Prince has disappeared!" A man in armour appeared, he was panting heavily from running.

"WHAT?"

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He carried the pink haired beauty on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Despite her futile attempts to escape, he managed to hold onto her and carry her to the outside of the palace.

Once he was sure there were no guards nearby, he dropped her to the ground unceremoniously. She fell with a thud on the grass in a not so graceful manner. She quickly got to her feet, "What do you think you're doing?"

He tore the hood that covered his head and watched with an amused expression as her emerald eyes widened.

"Prince! Why are you kidnapping me from your own palace? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Do you remember the time when you accepted my challenge?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. I'm going to prove to you that I'm not weak or useless," she said with a triumphant smile and hands on her hips.

"Do you know what that means, Sakura?"

The pinkette paused to think.

"Once you are married to me, you will have to remain in the palace. Opportunities for you to leave the palace would be very rare," Sasuke spoke, when Sakura did not answer, "Hence, I'm going to kidnap you and take you out on a date before that happens."

Sasuke heard shuffling and faint sounds of voices.

"We should go," he said hurriedly. He grabbed her hand and ran with her in tow. They ran until they reached the wall that surrounded the palace. With great ease, he climbed to the top of the wall and reached down, to help Sakura up. He jumped from the wall and landed on his feet on the other side of the wall. He looked up at Sakura and outstretched his arms. She looked nervously at him and hesitated. Sasuke could hear the voices of the guards coming closer.

"Don't worry, Sakura. Just give me your hand," Sasuke said to her.

She continued to hesitate and bit her lip.

The guards were coming closer.

"Sakura," he called her name firmly, his hands still outstretched.

Emerald met onyx. He could see the trepidation in her eyes.

Sakura closed her eyes before jumping towards him. Her arms went around his neck as Sasuke's arms circled her waist.

He fell back from the impact.

"You're heavier than I thought," he stated.

"Are you calling me fat?"

He stood up, dusting of the dirt on his clothes and dark cloak. He extended his hand again, "Let's go."

This time, there was no hesitation when she reached out to hold onto his hand.

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Sasuke watched as Sakura walked ahead exploring the streets of Konoha. She seemed to take an interest in most of the baubles being sold in almost every store they had passed. Sasuke was still wearing his dark cloak covering his features. He did not want any of the villagers to notice he was the Prince. Besides, he was not supposed to be out of the palace doors.

His onyx eyes scanned the area; he noticed that a considerable amount of people were taking an interest in Sakura. He found some men staring at her with hungry eyes. It was as if they were undressing her with just their eyes. He scowled.

He grabbed a hat nearest to him and tossed a couple of gold coins. He caught up to her and threw the hat on her head. He stood next to her obstructing the men's view. Sasuke turned his head and threw them a dirty look, making sure that most of his face was still covered. The men visibly paled and scrambled to get out of his sight.

"Prince, the hat is too big," Sakura whined, struggling to keep the hat from covering her eyes.

"Hn. Just wear it. You're pink hair is attracting too much attention."

He placed his hands in his pockets and walked ahead, not bothering to wait for her.

What did he just do? Why did he react that way? Sure, they were staring at her in an inappropriate manner. But, it should not really bother him. Right?

He stopped walking and turned around, calling her name.

But she was not there.

Sasuke called her name again, this time louder. Where had she disappeared to? His legs quickly picked up speed as he scanned the area once again, hoping to find her.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke pushed past throngs of villagers as he frantically started to search for her. He should not have left her behind. He should not have left her out of his sight. His breathing was starting to become irregular as he started to feel fatigue. His long, dark hair was starting to stick to the back of his neck uncomfortably. The cloak that served to help keep his identity a secret was starting to become a hindrance to him, obstructing his movements.

He walked right past a dark alley when his eyes suddenly caught a flash of pink.

"Let me go!"

_Sakura!_

He ran towards her voice. One of his hands was already placed at the handle of his sword.

He found her struggling with a man with silver hair slicked back. But, before he was able to strike, Sakura had grabbed the man by the collar and flipped him over her shoulder. His body hit the ground with a loud thud. Sasuke swore he could hear the cracking sounds of his bones.

"_Fuck._ You little _bitch_," the silver haired man cursed as he lifted his body from the ground. He reached for his scythe that was strapped to his back. His attack was stopped by a dark-skinned man. He towered over the silver haired man.

"Kakuzu, don't stop me you _bastard_. I'm going to sacrifice that pink haired cunt to Jashin," he growled.

Kakuzu looked at Sakura from head to toe, "She could be of use in other areas other than you're silly religious practices."

"_Silly?_"

"She could be worth quite a lot," Kakuzu continued ignoring the shorter man's death glare.

Sasuke appeared from the shadows and stood in front of her. He placed a hand in front of her protectively, "Touch her and you _die._"

"Huh? Looks like I'll have a sacrifice for tomorrow too," he grinned maliciously.

"Hidan. We don't have time for this, we should leave," Kakuzu spoke.

"Well, fuck. I was looking forward to ripping her in half."

Sasuke growled involuntarily.

"We're supposed to leave immediately once were done. We weren't supposed to be seen."

"Why don't we kill the bitch and the bastard _now_? Save us the fucking trouble."

Sasuke eyes narrowed. He made sure to keep an eye on the silver-haired man's every movement. Sasuke could literally taste the tension and killing intent in the air.

"Killing them would _attract_ attention, you moron. And I'm not going to waste another penny cleaning up you're dirty mess."

Hidan wordlessly placed the scythe on his back again.

"I'll come back for you, bitch," he smirked before disappearing with Kakuzu.

Sasuke sheathed his sword before turning around and grabbing Sakura by the shoulders.

"What did you think you were doing? Did you think you stood a chance against them? They were wanted _criminals_, Sakura! They could have killed you on the spot! What would you do if I didn't find you in time? Do you know how _worried_ I was?.." He stopped abruptly.

Worried?

He was… worried?

He was worried about _Sakura_?

"Prince. Prince! You're hurting me!"

Sasuke snapped out of his reverie and noticed that he was grabbing her shoulders painfully. He released his death grip and covered his face with one of his hands and mumbled his apology.

"I'm sorry," her voice was soft.

He combed his hair with his fingers in frustration and started to walk, "Tch. Annoying."

Sasuke stopped walking and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers. "Don't ever let go," he said in a whisper.

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An awkward silence settled between them as Sasuke led the way, his hand still intertwined with Sakura's. His bold actions started to sink in and he could feel his neck start to heat up. He looked at Sakura from the corner of his eyes and found her looking _straight_ at him with her large sea foam coloured eyes. He quickly turned away. He was sure his face was starting to look similar to Sakura's hair colour.

He mentally slapped himself.

_Get __a __grip! __You__'__re __an __Uchiha!_

He regained his composure as he started to notice that they were nearing their destination.

He stopped and released Sakura's hand, almost hesitantly. His hand suddenly felt empty and cold. Of course, it was cold not because of the sweat that was starting to evaporate. He meant it in a metaphorical manner.

"This was what I wanted to show you," he uttered in a soft voice stepping aside.

Sakura stepped forward, her viridian eyes enlarging as she took in her environment. From where she was standing she could see the _entire_ village and even the palace. It seems as if she was in a very high place overlooking the entire village. The view was simply breathtaking.

"I come here to think," Sasuke stated, folding his arms.

"Think?" She turned to look at him, "You didn't bring me here just for me to see this, right?"

Sasuke blinked in surprise, there was no point in hiding it. She would find out eventually, "No. I was attacked by an assassin last night. There were no trails outside of the palace, which meant he never left."

"So, you brought me out here to make sure the assassin never reached me?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

She turned to look away, her pink bangs covering her eyes.

Sasuke was about to reach out to her when he heard an all too familiar voice, "TEMEEEEEEE!"

He retracted his hand and scowled. In the distance, he could see the blonde running towards him with a group of other people.

Great.

Before he had time to react, he was being grabbed by _another_ blonde.

"Sasuke-kun! We were so worried about you!"

"Ino," he grunted, trying to wriggle out of her grasps. She was sticking to him like a leech.

Ino turned to glare daggers at his pink-haired companion before throwing a sweet smile at him.

_Great._

"Teme! What were you thinking? You could've been in danger! They would stop supplying me ramen if anything happened to you!" Naruto shouted.

"Is that _all_ you were thinking about, dobe?" Sasuke grumbled.

"Sasuke, you caused quite a commotion," the lazy genius spoke up.

Sasuke grunted.

"Were you out _all __day_ with this pink-haired _peasant_?" Ino huffed.

Said 'peasant' turned to look at her with a look of discontent evident in her features.

"We should return to the palace before any of the Council members suffer from a heart attack," Shikamaru reasoned.

Sasuke nodded and remembered the criminals he had seen earlier. It seems that there is a need to improve Konoha's defence.

"I need to speak to Danzou."

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Sasuke sat at the edge of his bed. Since Danzou was not in his office, Sasuke opted to stay in his room until he returned.

He heard a knock on his doors.

"Enter."

A pink-haired girl entered his room.

He looked quizzically at her, "What are you doing here?"

She turned to smile sweetly at him. A little _too _sweet maybe, "I was just thinking about you."

She walked closer to his bed.

"What?"

"Don't you remember, Prince? The challenge you proposed?"

"Challenge?"

"Yes. I won," a smile was plastered across her face as she took out the _gardening __shears_ that was hidden behind her back.

Sasuke's eyes widened, "Wa-Wait!"

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit."

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**And ****that ****concludes ****the ****end ****of ****this ****chapter. ****MUAHAHA!**

** I'm sorry if my update was late. OTL**

** Please enjoy and review guys! :D**


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